One of many samples I recently purchased from Upton. Its mostly whole leaf, with some broken pieces- and the aroma- what is that? sweet gherkin pickle juice? Bizarre….

Three minutes of steeping got very little flavor out of this, four got a bit more, so I went with 5. At bit better at that point but really just a meh sort of tea. I don’t get much darjeeling from it, and I don’t get much Earl Grey either.

Mostly this comes off as a weak earl grey, and if I wanted that, there are plenty of those to choose from .